The Tripper

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The Tripper

37% Liked It
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The Tripper

David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Paz de la Huerta, Ben Gardiner, Balthazar Getty

A group of free-love hippies attend an outdoor music and camping festival only to find themselves stalked by a maniac with a Ronald Reagan fixation and his killer dog, Nancy.

Id: 10889746

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The Tripper Recent Reviews
  • stopitgoaway
    July 14, 2009
    stopitgoaway
    When Scream veteran David Arquette steps into the directorial chair to make a horror movie, you might be forgiven for expecting more of the same. But you would be wrong.

    The opening sequence has news footage of nameless war dead, inhumanely thrown together like so much butcher m...( read more)eat. A voice-over says how there is nothing glamorous about war. The image is uncomfortably mirrored later in scenes of carnage and mass-murder. No shortage of gore, but it is the political overtones that make the movie stand out and also invite forgiveness for the appreciably low budget.

    The story follows a bunch of hippies having a love festival in the woods, much to the annoyance of local hicks. They are stalked by a psychopath in a realistic Ronald Reagan mask who starts chopping them up. Of those that are left, most are too stoned on ecstasy and LSD ('trippers' - geddit?) to want to believe anything very terrible is happening or that they could do anything about it anyway. The suggestion is obvious: you are living in happy oblivion while your political leaders wreak havoc in the world. Vietnam is neatly linked to Iraq, and 'Reagan' has a pig named George W that seems to be fed on severed limbs. This is no gentle analogy - it is served up with a sledgehammer (or rather an axe in most cases). Ill-gotten gains fly in the air as a body is cut in half with a chainsaw. "No daughter of mine is going to be hooked on drugs," says the killer tenderly, advancing with murderous intent. Better off dead, obviously.

    The humour is sparse enough to lend only light relief. With the lifelike Reagan towering over him, axe in hand, one victim pleads, "But I'm a Republican!" The killer dog Nancy is particularly nasty.

    And there's another layer . . . When Ronald Reagan was governor of California, he famously released a record number of mental health patients back into the community to save costs. (In case you didn't know this before seeing the film, you will before the end.) Arquette says he was inspired to make the film by growing up in Los Angeles during the Reagan years. Overtly political, B-movie blood-and-gore effects that are nevertheless stomach-churning, lots of nudity and some nice cinematography that mimics the drug experience, The Tripper even has pictures of all the politicians it hates in the credits.

    The Tripper may be for horror fans only, but it is an unpretentiously daring attempt to launch a broadside at a morally righteous right-wing establishment that is ankle deep in dead bodies of political making.
  • BloodyKitten
    July 25, 2008
    BloodyKitten
    As a slasher horredy, The Tripper is great fun. It is, however, something you need to watch with a group to get the full effect, preferably a group who will appreciate the political satire at play. Bloody, fun, and at times hilarious - give it a try!
  • armybratgeo
    January 10, 2008
    armybratgeo
    Man watching this was like I was on a acid trip myself. This was so bad I can't believe I wasted my time. I usually love silly B rated Horror movies, but I just couldn't get into this at all. The cast was impressive but this one didn't do anything for me. Good Lordy...
  • puffchunk
    January 9, 2008
    puffchunk
    If you like seeing hippies getting axed to death by Ronald Regan, this is the movie for you. Other highlights include Courtney Cox getting killed by evil dogs, and Paul Reubens covered in outhouse crap before he gets chopped down the middle with a chainsaw.
  • StaisilD
    December 11, 2007
    StaisilD
    This hippie slasher movie from director David Arquette is a mildly amusing satire on other slasher movies that does nothing new with the genre but is entirely watchable. The opening sequence has news footage of nameless war dead, inhumanely thrown together like so much butcher me...( read more)at. A voice-over says how there is nothing glamorous about war. The image is uncomfortably mirrored later in scenes of carnage and mass-murder. No shortage of gore, but it is the political overtones that make the movie stand out and also invite forgiveness for the appreciably low budget. The story follows a bunch of hippies having a love festival in the woods, much to the annoyance of local hicks. They are stalked by a psychopath in a realistic Ronald Reagan mask who starts chopping them up. There is some brief nudity and a lot of swearing and drug usage, but it's not shocking or even particularly interesting. It fits into the story line, so it's not gratuitous. There are some gratuitous gross out moments involving gore and fecal matter, but they are the kind you would expect in this genre.
  • diana1107
    July 19, 2009
    diana1107
    A Ronald Regan killer? Now I've seen it all.
  • nickymo89
    July 6, 2009
    nickymo89
    David Arquette brings us an unscarey horror comedy that is a political satire meets slasher flick. Decent gore, T&A.. & D actually, highlight this hippie, dippie, stoner... Republican? chopfest. Heeeeeere's Ronnie!
  • MisterTuttle
    June 24, 2009
    MisterTuttle
    This wasn't very good. I'll just leave it at that.
  • helwigs
    June 5, 2009
    helwigs
    There were some editing mistakes but it was actually really good.
  • MAUR1CE
    April 11, 2009
    MAUR1CE
    A cheesy/horror/comedy B-flick. Some good actors, an OK watch.
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